It's the one thing that we never thought would happen - Apple opening up FairPlay, the system that governs the DRM for music bought from the iTunes store. And if Tech.co.uk is correct, it could very well happen.
I can barely believe it; after all, Apple is not known for opening up technologies. Especially for iTunes, because Apple has tried to create a tight mesh between iTunes and iPod, making it a perfect pair that works together. And that's exactly what it is. You can buy content from the store, and sync it to your iPod in a few minutes. That is why this strikes me so odd. The possibility that this could be a fake is very present.
However, and especially if you've been reading my blog lately, I've expressed by disaproval towards this system for a number of reasons. I think this would be an excellent move for Apple to make.
The most obvious thing would be that it gives users freedom on which players they want to play content purchased from the iTunes store on. This is one of the reasons why Apple kept FairPlay closed, but the opposite is also true: content purchased from other stores will be playable on the iPod. And I think this latter statement is what will make the iPod even harder to approach. Now Apple can not only collect licensing fees from companies using their FairPlay service, they can also enjoy (hopefully) increased iPod market share.
It will also allow the iTunes store to become available in France and other countries which restricted closed-DRM schemes. This will continue to boost Apple's sales. And because of this, they will probably face less lawsuits from consumers claiming that Apple is playing "an illegal monopoly".
I partly think this move (if it so happens to be true) may be due to the fact that the Zune's DRM scheme is closed, like Apple's. If an Apple device can play songs from all sorts of stores, and the Zune can only play songs bought from the Zune Store, then it's most likely going to have a negative effect on Zune's sales. If Apple makes such a move, expect Microsoft to follow suit soon after.
I'm sure we all agree that this is a good move. But is a hoax? We'll find out in a few weeks.